posted by Bill Kircos on February 25, 2009
Here’s the link, what do you think?
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tagged: Fast Company, innovation
posted by Ken Kaplan on February 20, 2009
Since the turn of the millennium, I’ve seen advances in chip manufacturing processes — from circuitry measuring 180 nanometers to 130 to 90 to 65 to 45 and now 32nm — and new architectural designs in between. Every time a new chip advancement comes out, I try hooking up with our performance test engineers to get their take on the latest chips.
I visited the test labs in late 2007 when Intel moved to the 45nm process, which used the reinvented transistor using new high-k metal gates to help shrink and limit electrical leakage.
When the 32nm chips were being tested and prepped for their first public demonstration, I got to meet up with Intel VP Steve Smith and PC performance wizard Francois Piednoel.
Here Francios points out a few things like power consumption, new simplified motherboard design and the CPU with integrated graphics on one chip package nestled beneath a single heat sink.
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tagged: 32nm, Intel, Microprocessor, Westmere
posted by Bill Kircos on February 16, 2009
LG and Intel today announced a partnership to bring a future mobile Internet Device, or, "MID," that will offer phone capabilities, based on a chip we're designing for 2009 or 2010 code-named "Moorestown."
What does that mean? Intel's Atom processor powered MIDs are based on the same blueprint, or architecture (often called x86 or Intel architecture), all of our laptop, PC and server processors have been based on for decades. Those chips run most of the computers we all use, and the Internet and networking backbone behind the scenes. There are a lot of cool MIDs already on the market around the world.
So, people who buy LG's future MID will get a complete and fast Internet experience not unlike those experienced on older Intel-based laptops and PCs AND have a phone handy -- all in something that fits in your pocket. No more wondering if a new application or website or software will work, or work too slowly. No more having to decide whether the Internet device or cell phone or both are more important.
Whether it be smart phones, other CE devices, high-def TVs, laptops or even their work in state of the art refrigerators and washers and dryers, LG is known as a leading-edge design innovator. It's an honor to have a company like this as a future MID customer, complementing a lot of other Intel-based products the company offers.
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tagged: Atom, internet, LG, MID, Moorestown
posted by Kari Aakre on February 11, 2009
You may not know it, but today is national Inventor’s Day in the U.S. So take some time to think about and maybe even say thank you to all of the brilliant inventors who have given us all of the gadgets, gizmos and even simple things in life that we just couldn’t make it through the day without.
At Intel, we’re also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the integrated circuit. You can read more about it here. Needless to say, its one of those inventions that we couldn’t function the way we do today if it hadn’t been invented. Fifty years ago, inventor Robert Noyce, who later became one of the founders of Intel, created the first planar integrated circuit made from silicon. Noyce’s invention consisted of a complete electronic circuit inside a small silicon chip and helped revolutionize Silicon Valley’s semiconductor industry. Virtually all integrated circuits made today use some form of Noyce’s manufacturing technique.
But what will future inventions look like? How will they make life better or easier? How will innovation change our lives down the road? Our CTO Justin Rattner blogged about his top 5 predictions of how technology innovation will change the word. Check it out here. Do you agree? What are your own predictions?
You should also read this guest post on our Inside Scoop blog from Intel Fellow Kelin Kuhn. Kelin was a part of the Intel team that worked on our 45nm high-k metal gate technology — essentially changing the recipe for how transistors have been made for the last 40+ years. Kelin said she stopped reading science fiction when she joined the 45nm team at Intel because the team was making what was once believed to be impossible, possible! It’s a great story.
There’s a long list of inventions that I’m very thankful for, including my iPod with the Nike Running application that helps me track my runs, my laptop (of course, I work for Intel and I live on the thing), the cell phone (I feel “naked” without it), and my digital camera (dramatically reduced the number of awful pictures of nothing that I could have stored away in boxes at home).
So, what’s your favorite invention? What does innovation mean to you? What invention are you most looking forward to in the future?
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tagged: CTO, innovation, InsideScoop, integrated circuit, inventorsday, Justin Rattner, RobertNoyce
posted by Bill Calder on February 10, 2009
I am always amazed at the incredible work that Intel’s manufacturing group does especially when it comes to major technology transitons like the one that is upon us now. Shrinking to 32nm will require a massive investment, which we will accelerate now in part because the process or ‘recipie’ for making these new chips is already up and running and as we say around here, is very ‘healthy.’ For more on all of this, see the news here.
I believe it was Gordon Moore who first said many years ago that you dont save your way out of a recession. Craig Barrett took that to heart as CEO earlier this decade and built new factory capacity when everyone else was scaling back following the dot.com implosion. That move, putting pedal to metal when others were braking, proved to be a decisive factor in Intel’s regained strength over the last few years. Even so, announcing a $7 billion committment in the U.S., in this time and this environment, is truly staggering when you think about it. What other major US-based manufacturer in any sector is doing anything like this today? Certainly not the automobile industry. This is a tribute to the manufacturing machine that is Intel, and to the belief that technology is still an essential ingredient to U.S. competitiveness, now and in the future. If anyone can pull this off it’s Intel.
The irony is, we make these investments not knowing really whether the demand will ultimately be there. That is scary, but if you look back over time this is what Intel does best. It’s a huge bet on the future, and one we think will pay off.
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tagged: 32nm, barrett, economy, intel, investment, manufacturing, moores, recession, stimulus, technology
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